Nail feeding apparatus

ABSTRACT

A nail feeding apparatus for use with a supply of nails and a reciprocating hammer wherein a magnet fixed to a receiver plate with a nail shaft aligning groove therein magnetically attracts to and retains successively arriving nails along the groove as they are supplied from a delivery means spaced from and confronting the receiver plate. Each nail is retained in nailing relationship while the hammer drives the nail into nailable material. The plate has an angled section thereon and is movably mounted relative to the hammer so that as the hammer strikes the angled section of the receiver plate the plate moves from a first position within the path of the hammer to a second position outside the path of the hammer, leaving the nail behind to be driven by the hammer without interference from the plate, the moving receiving plate triggering the release of a successive nail which is then attracted to the groove and seized by the magnet when the plate returns to first position.

United States Patent 91 Frederickson [4 1 Oct. 16,1973

[ NAIL FEEDING APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Elmer Frederickson, Box 7,

Waubun, Minn. 5,6589

22 Filed: Feb. 7, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 223,911

[52] U.S. Cl. 277/113, 227/115 [51] Int. Cl. B25c 1/00 [58] Field of Search 227/113, 115, 116, 227/119 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,938,213 5/1960 Gorn 227/113 574,365 12/1896 Kumler 227/113. 994,008 5/1911 Knapp 227/1l5 Primary ExaminerGranville Y. Custer, Jr. Assistant Examiner--Harold P. Smith, Jr. Att0rneyGeorge F. Williamson et a1.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A nail feeding apparatus for use with a supply of nails and a reciprocating hammer wherein a magnet fixed to a receiver plate with a nail shaft aligning groove therein magnetically attracts to and retains successively arriving nails along the groove as they are supplied from a delivery means spaced from and confronting the receiver plate. Each nail is retained in nailing relationship while the hammer drives the nail into nailable material. The plate has an angled section thereon and is movably mounted relative to the hammer so that as the hammer strikes the angled section of the receiver plate the plate moves from a first position within the path of the hammer to a second position outside the path of the hammer, leaving the nail behind to be driven by the hammer without interference from the plate, the moving receiving plate triggering the release of a successive nail which is then attracted to the groove and seized by the magnet when the plate returns to first position.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures NAIL FEEDING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the field of automated or semi-automated nailing machines of the type used for construction of wooden pallets, prefabricated housing and the like and has utility in both portable nailers and in numerous assembly line nailing operations.

A number of commercially available nailing machines utilize magnetic attraction to retain the head of a nail while driving the nail, and all have elaborate, complex mechanical structures requiring a substantial capital investment. Typically, the machine utilizes a reciprocating plunger as a hammer, the plunger having a magnet to hold the head of the nail against the plunger while the nail is driven into the nailable material. Ordinarily both moving plunger and carried nail move within a stationary guiding sleeve, the plunger finally driving the nail from the open end of the sleeve and into the nailable material. Use of this sleeve and a magnet to retain nails by their heads increases the frequency of malfunction and machine'breakdown.

Commercially available nails are not perfectly uniform and the heads of such nails are rarely perfectly flat or uniform. The greater the irregularily of the nail head, the less suitable the nail is for use with the commercially available machines. irregularities on and around the nail head make it impossible to keep the nails shaft perfectly perpendicular to the surface to be nailed while such an irregular head is magnetically retained against the smoothly machined hammer surface. As the angle between shaft and surface to be nailed departs increasingly from the perpendicular, the likelihood increases that the nail will enter the nailable material crookedly and bend before full penetration of the nail is achieved. If the nail bends before leaving the sleeve the nail is likely to obstruct the sleeve and disable the nailing machine.

Another shortcoming of prior art nailing machines results from the fact that nails being driven into material of varying hardness require different amounts of energy to fully drive each nail. Even the same material may vary in hardness, as when knots are encountered in a piece of lumber. If a nail is not fully driven, the reciprocating hammer often has no way of compensating and simply picks up a new nail from the feed mechanism and drives the new nail on top of the old, still projecting nail. This new nail strikes the old partially driven nail and often bends within the sleeve, jamming the machine. These shortcomings have been eliminated by the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises a nail feeding apparatus for use with a nailingmachine. The invention is adaptable to nails of all sizes and types which are made of ferrous or magnetic materials. The invention can be used with large stationary nailing machines and with smaller, portable units; it is highly resistent to malfunction and inexpensive and simple to produce and operate. The invention can be used to drive nails into any nailable material at any angle and from any direction.

The apparatus has a magnet and nail shaft aligning means including a receiver plate fixed to the magnet and made of nonmagnetic material. Nails are delivered to the magnetic field of the magnet and the field then attracts each nail shaft to and retains it in a nail shaft groove in the receiver plate, the groove being arranged to align the nail shaft in a predetermined position in which a reciprocating hammer can drive the nail into the nailable material. The invention thus makes it unnecessary to retain nails by their already described irregularly shaped heads and makes it possible to hold them in nailing relationship with the hammer by retaining the nail shaft which is far more uniform than the head.

The invention is used with a conventional reciprocating plunger type of hammer, the receiver plate being movably mounted relative to the hammer and having an angled section thereon which is adapted to be struck by the descending hammer as the hammer drives the nail. As the hammer starts the nail and strikes the angled section of the plate, it generates a force component directed outwardly from the hammer and acting on the plate, the force moving the plate from a first position in the path of the hammer to a second position away from the nail and outside the path of the hammer, so the hammer can drive the nail into the nailable material.

The invention includes a delivery means for successively conveying individual nails from a supply of nails to a position within the field of the magnet so that the magnet can attract, seize, and retain the nail shaft in a predetermined position against the receiver plate.

Movement of the receiver plate and magnet between firstand second positions actuates a nail release mechanism on the delivery means which responds by successively releasing individual nails which are then delivered to the magnetic field and receiver plate along a gravity actuated nail guide.

Because the nails are held by the nail shaft instead of by the nail head, the shaft is easily oriented perpendicularly to the surface of the nailable material, resulting in a minimum of nails entering the nailable material at an angle substantially different from the perpendicular. The invention greatly reduces the number of nails which bend before fully entering the material and provides a more reliable fastening device. In addition because each nail is held by its shaft in the path of the reciprocating hammer, there is no need for a sleeve surrounding the nail and hammer during the driving of the nail. As a result the formerly serious problem of nail bending within the sleeve is eliminated. If due to error a first nail is driven into the material and a second nail is driven downward on top of the first nail, the second nail bounces harmlessly away and does not obstruct or damage the nail feeding apparatus. The invention thus eliminates the clogging problems encountered by the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the nail feeding apparatus invention with the outer housing shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a top elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing the alternative positions of the magnet and receiver plate relative to the path of the hammer.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 taken along the cutting plane 3-3.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the path followed by a nail during operation of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial top elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 1' illustrating the operation of the nail release mechanism.

DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIG. 1, the nail feeding apparatus invention is shown provided with a supply of nails 12 and positioned to cooperate with a reciprocating plunger or hammer 13 arranged to move within a known path 14. For illustrative purposes the path is hereshown as being substantially perpendicular to the nailable material represented by wooden board 15.

As will be recognized by those skilled in the art the use and operation of a reciprocating hammer 13 in a nailing machine is well known and the detailed machinery associated with its operation will not be discussed in detail except to say that the hammer can be triggered automatically by any appropriate means or controlled manually depending on the task to which the nailing machine is applied.

The nail feeding apparatus 10 has a magnet 16 to which a receiver plate 17 formed of non-magnetic material such as stainless steel, brass, aluminum, or the like is fixed by any appropriate means such as brazing. The preferred material for plate 17 is stainless steel. The receiver plate 17 has a shaft aligning groove 18 running substantially parallel to the path 14 of the reciprocating hammer 13. The plate 17 extends between the poles l9 and 20 of the magnet, and the groove 18 is cut deeply into the non-magnetic receiver plate. It

has been found that the use of such a plate and groove causes the magnetic field of the magnet 16 to urge nails within the field toward the groove 18, as opposed to merely attracting the nails to the poles 19 and 20. The receiver plate and resulting magnetic field functions in the same way if the groove 18 is cut all the way through the plate 17, and such a configuration is within the purview of the invention.

The aligning groove 18 is oriented substantially parallel to the path of the hammer and arranged to align the nail shaft 21 therealong (FIG. 4). The receiver plate 17 with its groove 18 serves as a nail shaft aligning means. Any nail leaving slot 22 of nail guide 23 enters the magnetic field, and as a result of the receiver plate 17 and groove 18 on magnet 16, is attracted to a predetermined position defined by the groove 18 along which the nail shaft 21 is retained by the magnet 16 beneath the hammer l3 and substantially parallel to the hammer path 14.

The receiver plate 17 has an angled section 24 at its end nearest the hammer whose purpose is to provide a surface for receiving a blow from the reciprocating hammer 13 in order to generate a force to swing the magnet and plate outward from the path of the driving hammer 13 and away from a partially driven nail for reasons to be further described hereafter.

The magnet 16 is a permanent U shaped magnet having a magnetic field strength adequate to magnetically attract a nail shaft, pull it to the groove 18 and retain the shaft in groove 18 until the hammer 13 drives the nail. It should be understood that although a permanent magnet is shown, any magnet of acceptable field strength including an electromagnet may be substituted for the shown magnet and is within the purview of the invention.

The magnet 16 and 17 are movably mounted relative to the path 14 of the hammer 13. A flexible spring member 25 attached to frame 26 and extending to and carrying the magnet 16 and plate 17 constitutes means mounting the aligning means for movement relative to the hammer path 14 between a first position 27 (FIG. 2) where the receiver plate is within the path 14 of the hammer and a second position 28 where the plate is outside of the path 14. The magnet 16 may be attached to the spring member 25 by any known means including the screw 29 and nut 30. When the plate 17 is struck by descending hammer 13 the plate, magnet, and spring member 25 swing from first position 27 to second position 28 in response to which the spring member 25 generates a restoring force which returns the receiver plate and magnet to first position 27 after hammer 13 has returned to a cocked position 31.

It should be understood that the means movably mounting the nail shaft aligning means may be any appropriate known apparatus which can move it between first and second positions, and all such apparatuses are within the purview of the invention. The shaft aligning means need not be attached to the delivery means and can instead be mounted in any known fashion to move between first and second positions.

The delivery means 32 shown herein within protective housing 33 is illustrative of one type of delivery means useable with the invention. The shown delivery means 32 has a frame 26 and includes tracks 34 and 35 adjustably attached to the frame 26 by mounting screws such as 36. The tracks 34 and 35 are preferably formed of nonmagnetic material to diminish any possible induced magnetic effects between track and nails located therealong. The spacing between tracks 34 and 35 is adjustable for varying nail shaft diameters, the tracks being movable toward and away from one another to accommodate smaller or larger nails, respectively. The nail heads are supported by the tracks with their shafts suspended along slot 22 which has a width adequate to permit nails to slide freely therealong when the tracks are angled downwardly to permit the force of gravity to urge the nails downwardly along the slot 22 and toward the magnet 16. The tracks 34 and 35 include lower guide surfaces 37 and 38 which assure that the shafts of the nails are aligned so as to direct them toward the magnetic field of magnet 16 as will be described hereafter. The spaced tracks 34 and 35 with their lower surfaces 37 and 38, respectively, comprise a nail guide along which nails are stored and from which they are delivered toward the shaft aligning means and magnet 16.

A nail release mechanism 39 to control nail flow along slot 22 has first and second cooperating gates 40 and 41, respectively, spaced from each other along the slot 22 of the nail guide and adapted to alternately obstruct the slot. The first gate 40 is rigidly attached to the spring member 25 and extends from the spring member under the track 34 and transverse thereto, terminating at the second track 35 and providing an obstruction to movement of nails along slot 22 when the spring member 25 and receiver plate 17 are in the first position 27.

The second gate 41 located downstream of gate 40 and attached to and supported by the flexible spring member 25 passes over and around the track 35 in opposed relationship to gate 40, terminating at the edge of slot 22 without obstructing slot 22 so long as the receiver plate 17 and magnet 16 are in first position 27. The distance between the gates 40 and 41 as measured along slot 22 is substantially equal to the thickness of a single nail shaft.

The tracks 34 and 35 of the nail guide terminate in fingers 42 and 43, respectively, which are adjacent to and confront the plate 17 and arrest the gravity induced movement of each nail as it leaves the nail guide and moves toward the plate 17 and groove 18. The fingers 42 and 43 are angled upwardly relative to the tracks to catch the head 44 of each nail (FIG. 4), briefly retaining the head while the shaft 45 swings about an axis 46 (FIG. 2) passing through the fingers, as magnetic attraction pulls it to groove 18. The guide surfaces 37 and 38 of the nail guide direct the nail toward the plate 17 as it leaves the tracks 34 and 35. The fingers 42 and 43 are designed to release the nail head 44 as the magnetic field pulls the nail toward the receiver plate 17 and they insure that the head of each nail is at substantially the same level as it arrives at the plate 17.

The finger 43 is slightly longer than finger 42, the unequal length of the fingers tending to cause the nail to turn toward the spring member 25 as it pivots about the axis 46 through the fingers (FIG. 2). As a consequence of this turning movement and the simultaneous countering force supplied by the magnet 16, the nail point follows a curved path 47 from the guide to the groove 18. This curved path 47 permits the nails velocity in direction 48 to be steadily diminished as it contacts plate 17 while approaching the groove 18. While the use of a curving path 47 has been found helpful, it is not essential to the operation of the invention and a nail released from any point confronting plate 17 is attracted directly to the groove 18 and retained there.

The nail release mechanism 39 is connected to the flexible spring member 25 and actuated by transverse movement of the member 25. Consequently when the descending hammer l3 forces the plate 17 and magnet from first position 27 to second position 28, the nail release mechanism 39 is actuated to begin releasing a single nail 49 (FIGS. 2, 3). As the restoring force generated by displaced spring member 25 restores the plate and magnet to first position 27, the nail 49 is released and delivered to the magnetic field of the magnet 16.

It should be understood that the delivery means 32, including the nail guide, the nail release mechanism 39, and the fingers 42 and 43, are illustrative of one type of delivery means useful with the invention, and that any means is acceptable and'within the purview of the invention if it conveys a nail to the magntic field of magnet 16 and properly orients the nail to be attracted to and retained in the groove 18 by the magnet.

It should be understood that the spring member 25 is but one mechanism by which the magnet 16 and receiver plate 17 can be movably mounted relative to the path 14 of the reciprocating hammer 13. Any means known to the art by which the plate and hammer can be moved clear of the path of the hammer is useable by the invention and within its purview. In addition it should also be understood that the shown nail release mechanism 39 is merely illustrative and that other forms of nail release mechanisms can be used with the invention and are also within its purview.

In operation, an operator first provides a supply of nails 12 to the machine by arranging a plurality of nails along the slot 22 of the nail guides tracks 34 and 35, the nails being arranged successively one after another along the slot 22. The first gate 40,'which remains in an obstructing position 50 (FIG. 2) when the magnet 16 and plate 17 are in the shown first position 27, prevents the nails from leaving the slot until needed. The operator places a single nail 21 in the groove 18 and the nailing machine 10 is ready for operation.

When the reciprocating hammer-plunger 13 is actuated, it descends rapidly along path 14, striking the head 51 of the nail 21 and driving it into the nailable material 15, which is positioned adjacent the plate 17 such that the nail enters the material 15 before the hammer 13 strikes the angled section 24 of the plate. As the hammer 13 strikes the angled section 24, it forces the plate and magnet outward from the nail shaft to the second position 28 (FIG. 2). As the plate and magnet move outward, the descending hammer drives the nail 21 fully into the nailable material, completing the nailing operation. The hammer 13 then is withdrawn to the cocked position 31 awaiting the next nail.

As the magnet and plate are forced outward to the second position 28 a restoring force is generated in the flexible spring member 25 which will swing the member 25 back to the original first position 27. While the spring member is in the second position the nail release mechanism 39 begins releasing the next nail 49.

As the receiver plate 17 is displaced from first position and swung to second position, the first gate 40 (FIG. 2) moves transversely to the nail slot 22 causing the first gate 40 to be withdrawn from the slot 22, moving from obstructing position 50 (FIG. 2) to release position 52 (FIG. 5). Nail 49 slides downwardly along the slot 22 until it encounters the second gate 41 (FIG. 5), which due to the swinging movement of spring member 25 has moved into an obstructing position 53 (FIG. 5) across the slot 22 preventing further movement of nail 49 along the slot. The spacing between first gate 40 and second gate 41 is sufficient to permit only a single nail to fit therebetween.

As the receiver plate returns to first position 27 due to the restoring force generated by the spring member 25, first gate 40 returns again to an obstructing position 50 (FIG. 2), preventing nails upstream of the gate 40 from moving past the gate 40. The single nail 49 (FIG. 5) which had already passed first gate 40 only to be obstructed by second gate 41, is now free to move down wardly along the slot since return of the spring member 25 to first position 27 resulted in second gate 41 being moved clear of the slot 22 to a release position 54 shown in FIG. 2. Since nail 49 (FIG. 4) has already passed gates 40 and 41 there is no furtherobstru'ction along the slot 22 to prevent its further movement, and

gravitational attraction causes the nail to slide down slot 22 toward the receiver plate 17. I

As the nail 49 slides downwardly in slot 22 (FIG. 4) its head 44 is caught and its downstream movement substantially arrested by upwardly angled fingers 42 and 43. As the head is slowed down, the shaft 49 swings about an axis 46 (FIG. 2) passing through the fingers as the combined inertia of the moving nail and the magnetic field of magnet 16 pull the shaft toward the groove 18 of receiver plate 17. The fingers assure that the head of each nail reaches the receiver plate at substantially the same vertical level. The reciprocating hammer 13 is now actuated and descends, driving the nail 49, now in position 21 (FIG. 4) into the nailable material and forcing plate 17 and magnet 16 outward from the first position 27 to the second position 28 to trigger the release of the next nail from the delivery means 32.

As larger or smaller nails are used with the invention, it may be necessary to adjust the position of magnet 16 on member 25 so as to have the head of the nail in the desired position.

Best results are obtained with the invention if the supply of nails consists of a single size nail, various sized nails not being simultaneously intermixed along the slot. It should be understood, however, that such mixing of various sized nails can be done without harm to the invention. The problem arising from mixing various size nails is that the hammer may not have sufficient energy to drive an oversized nail if it is set to drive a smaller nail, and more than one blow may be required to fully sink the oversize nail. If nails of a single size are used, the hammer 13 can be adjusted to deliver the right amount of energy for effective driving of that size nail. The feed mechanism itself is not adversely affected by intermixing nails of various sizes.

If for any reason the nailing machine drives a nail on top of an already driven nail, the second nail simply bounces off and away from the driven nail without damaging or jamming the feeding apparatus. Since the invention requires no sleeve to surround the reciprocating hammer, there is no danger of the nails bending within the sleeve and jamming the apparatus.

it should be noted that the magnet 16 and shown aligning means will attract and retain any nail entering the magnetic field in close proximity to the magnet. This is true no matter how the magnet and plate are aligned in space. Consequently when the magnet and aligning means are provided with an appropriate delivery means which does not require gravitational force for its operation, the resulting nailing machine can drive a nail in any direction selected by the operator. Since none of the required parts are overly large or heavy the invention is well adapted to a portable nailing machine, and such structures are within the purview of the invention.

Accordingly, it is seen that the present invention provies a highly reliable, simple, rugged, and compact feeding apparatus for a nailing machine and eliminates the described substantial shortcomings of the prior art machines.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, it should be understood that various changes, adaptations and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A nail feeding apparatus for use with a supply of nails and with a reciprocating hammer moving within a path to successively drive individual nails into n'ailas ble material comprising:

a magnet having a magnetic field adequate to magnetically retain a nail shaft; nail shaft aligning means in the magnetic field adapted to align a nail shaft in a predetermined position parallel to the path of the hammer when the nail shaft is magnetically retained by said magnet;

delivery means including a slot along which the heads of the nails are guided as individual nails from the supply of nails are successively conveyed to the magnetic field so that the said magnet retains the nail shaft in the predetermined position;

means mounting said aligning means for movement relative to the path of the hammer to move between a first position wherein said nail shaft aligning means and said magnet retain the nail in nailing relationship in the path of the hammer and a second position wherein said aligning means is outside of the path of the hammer so the hammer can freely drive the nail shaft into the nailable material; and

said nail shaft aligning means including a receiver plate of non-magnetic material with a nail shaft groove on the said receiver plate, the groove being parallel to the path of the hammer when said aligning means is in first position and confronting said delivery means, said parallel groove being of a length substantially less than that of the nail shaft and having a first end confronting the hammer and a second end confronting the nailable material, said first end being positioned below the level of said delivery means slot so that the nail head of the nail is substantially spaced from said first end of said groove when the nail is received from said slot, thereby assuring that the nail shaft moves parallel to and along said groove as the hammer strikes the nail head, the nail head contacting said parallel groove only after the nail tip is firmly embedded in the nailable material.

2. The combination according to claim I wherein said delivery means includes a gravity actuated nail guide having a pair of fingers adjacent to and confronting the said aligning means, said guide extending from the nail supply and terminating at the said pair of fingers, the fingers adapted to arrest the gravity induced movement of the head of each nail as the nail moves along said guide and the nail shaft is attracted to and swung toward said aligning means by the said magnet, resulting in the nail swinging about an axis passing through the fingers and its shaft then being retained by the said magnet.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said fingers are angled upwardly relative to the said guide and are on each side of the guide to closely control the position of the nail shaft as it is attracted to said magnet.

4. A nail feeding apparatus for use with a supply of nails and with a reciprocating hammer moving within a path to successively drive individual nails into nailable material comprising:

a magnet having a magnetic field adequate to magnetically retain a nail shaft;

a nail shaft aligning means in the magnetic field adapted to align a nail shaft in a predetermined position relative to the hammer when the nail shaft is magnetically retained by said magnet;

delivery means for successively conveying individual nails from the supply of nails to the magnetic field so that the said magnet retains the nail shaft in the predetermined position;

means mounting said aligning means for movement relative to the path of the hammer to move between a first position wherein said nail shaft aligning means and said magnet retain the nail in nailing relationship in the path of the hammer and a second position wherein said aligning means is outside of the path of the hammer so the hammer can freely drive the nail shaft into the nailable material;

said shaft aligning means including a receiver plate having a section thereon oriented at an angle to the path of the hammer and arranged to lie in the path when said receiver plate is in the first position to generate a force component on the said plate which is directed outwardly from the path in response to striking of the angled section by the hammer as a nail is driven, in order to swing said plate to the second position outside the path of the hammer; and

said means movably mounting said aligning means including a flexible spring member attached to and extending from the delivery means and supporting said aligning means for swinging movement between said first and second positions, said spring member retaining the aligning means in first position until displaced to said second position and then swinging said aligning means back to said first position.

5. A nail feeding apparatus for use with a supply of nails and with a reciprocating hammer moving within a path to successively drive individual nails into nailable material comprising:

a magnet having a magnetic field adequate to magnetically retain a nail shaft;

nail shaft aligning means in the magnetic field adapted to align a nail shaft in a predetermined position relative to the hammer when the nail shaft is magnetically retained by said magnet;

delivery means for successively conveying individual nails from the supply of nails to the magnetic field so that said magnet retains the nail shaft in a predetermined position;

means mounting said aligning means for movement relative to the path of the hammer to move between a first position wherein said nail shaft aligning means and said magnet retain the nail in nailing relationship in the path of the hammer and a secend position wherein said aligning means is outside of the path of the hammer so that the hammer can freely drive the nail shaft into the nailable material; said delivery means including a gravity actuated nail guide having a pair of fingers adjacent to and confronting the said aligning means, said guide extending from the nail supply and terminating at the said pair of fingers, th fingers adapted to arrest the gravity induced movement of the head of each nail as the nail moves along said guide and the nail shaft is attracted to, and swung toward said aligning means by the said magnet, resulting in the nail swinging about an axis passing through the fingers and its shaft then being retained by the said magnet in the predetermined position; and

said delivery means further including a nail release mechanism to selectively obstruct nail flow along said nail guide, the movably mounting aligning means being operatively associated with the nail release mechanism such that movement of said aligning means between first and second position actuates said nail release mechanism causing it to permit passage of a nail along the guide toward said fingers.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein said nail release mechanism includes first and second cooperating gates spaced from each other along the guide and adapted to alternately obstruct the nail guide, the gates arranged for movement transverse to the nail guide in response to movement of said aligning means between said first and second positions, each of said gates arranged to move between an obstructing position blocking nail flow along the nail guide and a release position wherein the gate moves clear of the nail guide, said second gate being downstream of said first gate and arranged to move to an obstructing position when said first gate is in a release position and to a release position when said first gate is in an obstructing position so that nail flow along the guide is obstructed by said first gate and unobstructed by said second gate when the said aligning means is in first position, said first gate being in release position and said second gate being in obstructing position when the aligning means is in said second position, resulting in the discharge of a single nail in response to swinging of the aligning means between first and second positions. 

1. A nail feeding apparatus for use with a supply of nails and with a reciprocating hammer moving within a path to successively drive individual nails into nailable material comprising: a magnet having a magnetic field adequate to magnetically retain a nail shaft; nail shaft aligning means in the magnetic field adapted to align a nail shaft in a predetermined position parallel to the path of the hammer when the nail shaft is magnetically retained by said magnet; delivery means including a slot along which the heads of the nails are guided as individual nails from the supply of nails are successively conveyed to the magnetic field so that the said magnet retains the nail shaft in the predetermined position; means mounting said aligning means for movement relative to the path of the hammer to move between a first position wherein said nail shaft aligning means and said magnet retain the nail in nailing relationship in the path of the hammer and a second position wherein said aligning means is outside of the path of the hammer so the hammer can freely drive the nail shaft into the nailable material; and said nail shaft aligning means including a receiver plate of non-magnetic material with a nail shaft groove on the said receiver plate, the groove being parallel to the path of the hammer when said aligning means is in first position and confronting said delivery means, said parallel groove being of a length substantially less than that of the nail shaft and having a first end confronting the hammer and a second end confronting the nailable material, said first end being positioned below the level of said delivery means slot so that the nail head of the nail is substantially spaced from said first end of said groove when the nail is received from said slot, thereby assuring that the nail shaft moves parallel to and along said groove as the hammer strikes the nail head, the nail head contacting said parallel groove only after the nail tip is firmly embedded in the nailable material.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said delivery means includes a gravity actuated nail guide having a pair of fingers adjacent to and confronting the said aligning means, said guide extending from the nail supply and terminating at the said pair of fingers, the fingers adapted to arrest the gravity induced movement of the head of each nail as the nail moves along said guide and the nail shaft is attracted to and swung toward said aligning means by the said magnet, resulting in the nail swinging about an axis passing through the fingers and its shaft then being retained by the said magnet.
 3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said fingers are angled upwardly relative to the said guide and are on each side of the guide to closely control the position of the nail shaft as it is attracted to said magnet.
 4. A nail feeding apparatus for use with a supply of nails and with a reciprocating hammer moving within a path to successively drive individual nails into nailable material comprising: a magnet having a magnetic field adequate to magnetically retain a nail shaft; a nail shaft aligning means in the magnetic field adapted to align a nail shaft in a predetermined position relative to the hammer when the nail shaft is magnetically retained by said magnet; delivery means for successively conveying individual nails from the supply of nails to the magnetic field so that the said magnet retains the nail shaft in the predetermined position; mEans mounting said aligning means for movement relative to the path of the hammer to move between a first position wherein said nail shaft aligning means and said magnet retain the nail in nailing relationship in the path of the hammer and a second position wherein said aligning means is outside of the path of the hammer so the hammer can freely drive the nail shaft into the nailable material; said shaft aligning means including a receiver plate having a section thereon oriented at an angle to the path of the hammer and arranged to lie in the path when said receiver plate is in the first position to generate a force component on the said plate which is directed outwardly from the path in response to striking of the angled section by the hammer as a nail is driven, in order to swing said plate to the second position outside the path of the hammer; and said means movably mounting said aligning means including a flexible spring member attached to and extending from the delivery means and supporting said aligning means for swinging movement between said first and second positions, said spring member retaining the aligning means in first position until displaced to said second position and then swinging said aligning means back to said first position.
 5. A nail feeding apparatus for use with a supply of nails and with a reciprocating hammer moving within a path to successively drive individual nails into nailable material comprising: a magnet having a magnetic field adequate to magnetically retain a nail shaft; nail shaft aligning means in the magnetic field adapted to align a nail shaft in a predetermined position relative to the hammer when the nail shaft is magnetically retained by said magnet; delivery means for successively conveying individual nails from the supply of nails to the magnetic field so that said magnet retains the nail shaft in a predetermined position; means mounting said aligning means for movement relative to the path of the hammer to move between a first position wherein said nail shaft aligning means and said magnet retain the nail in nailing relationship in the path of the hammer and a second position wherein said aligning means is outside of the path of the hammer so that the hammer can freely drive the nail shaft into the nailable material; said delivery means including a gravity actuated nail guide having a pair of fingers adjacent to and confronting the said aligning means, said guide extending from the nail supply and terminating at the said pair of fingers, the fingers adapted to arrest the gravity induced movement of the head of each nail as the nail moves along said guide and the nail shaft is attracted to, and swung toward said aligning means by the said magnet, resulting in the nail swinging about an axis passing through the fingers and its shaft then being retained by the said magnet in the predetermined position; and said delivery means further including a nail release mechanism to selectively obstruct nail flow along said nail guide, the movably mounting aligning means being operatively associated with the nail release mechanism such that movement of said aligning means between first and second position actuates said nail release mechanism causing it to permit passage of a nail along the guide toward said fingers.
 6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein said nail release mechanism includes first and second cooperating gates spaced from each other along the guide and adapted to alternately obstruct the nail guide, the gates arranged for movement transverse to the nail guide in response to movement of said aligning means between said first and second positions, each of said gates arranged to move between an obstructing position blocking nail flow along the nail guide and a release position wherein the gate moves clear of the nail guide, said second gate being downstream of said first gate and arranged to move to an obstructing position when said first gate is in a release position and to a rElease position when said first gate is in an obstructing position so that nail flow along the guide is obstructed by said first gate and unobstructed by said second gate when the said aligning means is in first position, said first gate being in release position and said second gate being in obstructing position when the aligning means is in said second position, resulting in the discharge of a single nail in response to swinging of the aligning means between first and second positions. 